The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“I want to be remembered as someone who helped my friends and people I know in the grades below to be able to appreciate all of our experiences together. I find it very inspiring to watch all my friends mature over time and want to help this community grow," senior Max Zhai said.
Humans of Harker: Mentoring the next generation
Humans of Harker: Bonds and bullseyes
Humans of Harker: Bonds and bullseyes
Humans of Harker: Piecing together a narrative
Humans of Harker: Piecing together a narrative
“When I was a VP, I had this urge to think, ‘I was a director last year. I know exactly what to do. I'm gonna do it myself, and then the directors can watch and take it on for the next year.' But then I had to realize that it's important to delegate and let them go through the hardship that it took me the year before. Even if they don't understand it, it's also important for them to go through that experience so that they can get to the point where I am now," senior Sanaa Bhorkar said.
Humans of Harker: Directing effort, coordinating action
“My hobbies are a lot of trial and error. With cooking and photography, it takes a lot of patience and messing up, and I kind of love that. I love growing and just getting better at something. There are just some creative outlets that I think are fun ways to spend time," senior Haden Andrews said.
Humans of Harker: Camaraderie, creativity and cooking
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
Humans of Harker: Cooking with creativity
“There's a lot of value in every moment and everyone around you. I appreciate people who just appreciate the little things. For me, I feel like everyone you meet can teach you a little bit, and that's something that I've really internalized over the years. I think that's part of why I like being around people and different communities so much. Because in each of these communities, you can learn so many different things from everyone," Olivia Xu ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Purpose towards progress
“I get to choose how much effort and detail I put in, and that’s what you’re going to see in the end. I love that you can see the truth on paper. A lot of my work is in black and white, so I can’t rely on color to cover it up or make it more interesting — I can only rely on my skill and willingness to go into the studio and add to my piece," Katelyn Zhao ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Envisioning the everyday
"I used to think that I have to keep doing dance just because it's what I’m known for. But now I’ve realized there’s beauty behind all the madness that happens. And it’s now a part of me, so not doing dance or not having Legos is like I’m losing a part of my identity," Luke Mehta ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: Building with style
“Why not? So many things are very foreign or unknown to us, but there’s not much to lose by just trying things. I initially wasn’t very comfortable with DECA, especially with impromptu, but the community really helped me grow out of that. And DECA is now one of my top high school memories. Just giving things a try is really worth it, and if it fails, the worst thing that can happen is you just try something else," Claire Luo ('24) said.
Humans of Harker: It’s all in the details
"Being a lifer, I really want to put my knowledge to use. Being a TEDx speaker is a really big honor in and of itself, but to be able to actually address the Harker community was really important to me because I wanted to have an impact on the place that I've been at for 13 years," Arissa Huda ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Prescribing change
"I’ve learned discipline: practicing a lot and then knowing what your strengths are, knowing where to improve. That discipline is definitely going to stay with me. If I’m trying to get a big piece of work done in general when I'm interested in it, I'll stop at nothing to reach my goals," Linette Hoffman ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Artistry in motion
"I have this philosophy with theater. I wholeheartedly believe that my life was made for the stage, and all my make or break moments have happened there. While some people learn best through lectures or visuals, I learn best from having a spotlight on me," Zubin Khera ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Scripts to success
"One of the most important things for me about performing is its transformative power. There was one concert where we were singing this commission about gun violence, followed by a piece about climate change, a piece about the Holocaust. Watching the audience's expressions and how they reacted to the music we were singing was the first time that I was like, ‘Whoa, music has the power to change lives and engender positive change,’” Sawyer Lai ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Symphony of spirit
"It’s been fun getting to know the chefs at La Mar, their team and how different cultural influences blend together. For example, they make ceviche, which is a traditional Peruvian dish, but they infuse it with many different cultures. They have a version of their ceviche which is inspired by African tastes and spices, and they also have a Japanese form of that same ceviche dish. I think it’s interesting to watch how these fusion dishes form," Alex Lan ('23) said.
Humans of Harker: Flavors of knowledge
Prakrit Jain ('22) searches for new animal species to help the environment and wildlife.
Humans of Harker: Scorpion spotter
Arnav Gupta ('22) moves a DNA construction.
Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause
“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.
Humans of Harker: Blast of creativity
"Every single person I've interviewed for Humans of Harker has said one killer quote that has stuck with me even through four years of high school, and I think I really do internalize those messages. There are nuances in every single person's experience that makes it unique to them and also makes it a good lesson for everyone else. It's just amazing to see how much wisdom every single person at Harker has, and it's fascinating to learn about those stories," Erica Cai ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: Harmony in humanity
“Something I took away from baseball is that there's always the opportunity to bounce back when things don't go particularly right. Even the best hitters only go one for three, so being able to push through that is one of the most important parts of the game. Being able to identify what goes wrong and learning from that is important to being able to find success in the future," Mark Hu ('22) said.
Humans of Harker: The perfect pitch
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
Humans of Harker: Perseverance on par
It's been obviously rough, turning on the news and seeing another death, seeing another acquittal every single time … but, ‘How much can I do?’ is the question I'm asking myself. ‘How much can I help, and what impact can I have?’” Brian Pinkston ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: For the future and the present
“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Leading with DECA-cation
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
Class of 2021: Humans of Harker compilation, part three
“I feel really good about myself when I'm relaxed and enjoying the world. There’s so much to learn about the world and so many ways to do so," Daniel Wang ('21) said.
Humans of Harker: Mapping the unknown
"I'm the person that always has a plan for everything. And then I have backups for the plan, and I have backups for the backups," Nicole Chen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Calendars for a cause
"I don’t ever intend on letting the internal love of life that I have leave me. As I grow up and I maintain my love for the random things I do, I know I’ll be happy– and hopefully people around me will be, as well," Mathew Mammen ('19) said.
Humans of Harker: Jack of all trades, master of fun
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
Humans of Harker: To dance, to feel
"The more serious side, people will never see. You'll never see who's behind one of these websites that people may be using," Neil Ramaswamy (12) said. "Several freshmen have approached me like, 'hey, you're the really funny guy at school meeting' and I'm like 'hey, yeah, nice to meet you' and at the same time they might be using an application that I've written not knowing that it's me. I kind of get that personal satisfaction knowing that there is a serious side to me, you just don't know about it."
Humans of Harker: Dueling with duality
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
Humans of Harker: Humanity in art
“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Neymika Jain finds balance in life
“A lot of the time, when I’m out at nail salons, nailers ask me if I‘m Vietnamese. I say yes, but they say that I don’t speak the language and have never been back to Vietnamese, so am I really? I always felt disconnected, like I would be Vietnamese-American but never Vietnamese. When I went to Vietnam for the first time, it brought me closer to my culture. I realized I shouldn’t view myself as a different. I have to see Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese as one and the same," Haley Tran (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Haley Tran values her cultural identity
“One time, I was hiking up this giant off-trail path, and this is going to make me sound like a complete hippy, but what I was thinking at the moment was that every single tree out there must have had some sort of backstory. Even when I was walking to Shah, there was this tree right next to the building, and I was like, ‘Maybe this tree had a lot of other tree friends, but then this building came up and they had to get cut down.’ That made me pretty sad. So, when I was coming up with backstories for trees, it reminded me of my childlike innocence of playing pretend or playing with my stuffed animals because I thought my imagination would never run as wild as it once did. But, this experience made me feel happy because it’s something that I’ve lost, and I feel like I gained some of it back," Aashish Jain (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Aashish Jain finds inspiration in painting through watching Bob Ross videos
“For me, robotics has always been a great way to learn about how to build things and how things work. Honestly, that is the reason why I love robotics. When you see everything working, you look at it and say 'I helped make this happen,' which is really really gratifying," Andrew Tierno (12) said.
Humans of Harker: Andrew Tierno reflects on his passion for robotics
“A lot of being a choreographer is about digging deep, understanding, and finding out which event leads to the next, which is basically what science is. You would take a circuit and break it apart to understand each of the components, and you would do that to a song,” Sneha Bhetanabhotla (‘17) said.
Humans of Harker: Sneha Bhetanabhotla learns to connect robotics and dance
“I can be serious, and I care a lot about a lot of things, but I also just like having fun and people feeling comfortable being their true selves,” Isabella Spradlin (12) said. “You don't have to be one-sided — you can have different sides of your personality, and different moods.”
Humans of Harker: Isabella Spradlin gleans insight from sisterhood
“This is like a melting pot of Cupertino, Lynbrook, Saratoga, some people from De Anza, so you meet all kinds of people,” Rahul Mehta (12) said. “Half the time I’m not even playing with my friends, so I’m playing with random people. You start off in the beginning a bit wary of each other, and then by end you’re playing like they’re your friends. It’s kind of gradual. Like after a really cool play, you’ll high five each other, and that’s how it all begins.”
Humans of Harker: Rahul Mehta befriends others through banter
"People are always debating, you know, ‘should I go up to a higher weight or not?’ And I’ll just yell, ‘do it, you won’t,’" Tiffany Shou (12) said. "And then, you know, it’s like that challenge, and so it always pushes them pick that higher weight, and then they can accomplish it, so it’s even more gratifying."
Humans of Harker Video: Tiffany Shou pushes her limits in the weight room
“First, I start at my house,” Sparsh Chauhan (12) said. “Then, I turn on Saratoga, and it’s always crowded with traffic and stuff. That’s when I’m setting the music, checking the tire pressure, the gas. After downtown, the road gets smooth, which is when I put the windows down. I go all the way down until there’s a dip and then I go back. Even when I have stuff to do, I drive that same route every day. I don’t have to take directions. I know all the traffic times; I know exactly where I’m going.”
Humans of Harker: Sparsh Chauhan takes pride in his work
“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”
Humans of Harker: Angel Cervantes chases his goals
“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Learning to fall
“You just have to go for it. You think, 'In the future, if I think back and regret it, is that how I want to end up — or would I rather just try something and see what happens?' Usually, it turns out well,” Montek Kalsi (’20) said. 
Humans of Harker: All fun and games
“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.
Humans of Harker: Leadership and love
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Grit and grind
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
Humans of Harker: Artistic nonconformity
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila
“There's nothing like that feeling you get. You can't really put it into words. Just getting a new experience or learning something that completely changes the way you think.  And you can't do that by doing the same thing over and over. You can't do that by staying in your comfort zone, you know? And I can't describe the feeling, but it's — it's something else,” Martin Bourdev (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Pushing limits

by Aditya Singhvi, Co-Sports Editor • January 12, 2020

As he leans back on a couch in the Nichols Rotunda, one leg crossed over the other, a sparkle emerges in his eyes and his usually-deep voice reaches a pitch of child-like wonder, unable to contain his...

“Because I started off from, ‘I didn't know what to say, I couldn't say anything,’ to, in a roleplay, figuring out what am I going to say, how am I going to say it, that really helped me structure my thinking and my speaking skills where I'm not just droning on. When I start talking, I know what I want to say and the point I want to get across,” Ishaan Chandra (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Lead and learn

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Organizations, People and Social Media Editor • January 11, 2020

Freshmen and sophomores swarm to Ishaan Chandra (12) during DECA’s Silicon Valley Career Development Conference (SVCDC). Ranging from “Where’s the bathroom?” to questions about the event, they...

"Going to school with kids who are ambitious, motivated, curious, just intellectual, is something that is just powerful because I don't think I could have those conversations with anyone else my age unless they also similarly valued education like I do. Something that I’m passionate about is just people becoming more aware and involved in their own communities and just being aware of current events,” Caroline Yager (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Learning art

by Irene Yuan, Asst. Photo Editor • January 11, 2020

Black and white sketches cover a wall of the room, the scenes carefully drawn without smudging the graphite lines. Clipped to an easel in the corner of the room opposite from the windows is a black and...

“The way the world's working right now and the way technology is advancing, it’s really important to connect [technology] to social issues, especially with the ubiquitous use...nowadays. If you don't connect [technology] to social studies such as psychology or sociology, you miss out on a big impact to change the world or improve the world,” Vibha Arramreddy (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Coding for a cause

by Nilisha Baid, TALON Organizations, People and Social Media Editor • January 10, 2020

Eighth and ninth grade students dash across the San Jose Public Library's community room, racing to write down the next line of code in a series. Cheering in excitement, each team aims to complete their...

“[Leading robotics] has been just like the same attitude I've approached everything [with] recently. It’s taught me that most people don't actually know what they're doing, and it's the people that are willing to admit that they don't know what they're doing and try to learn that do the best,” Sanjay Rajasekharan (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Built for the job

by Mark Hu, Winged Post STEM Editor • January 9, 2020

Standing next to an intricate machine, fit with rubber rollers and metal bars running up and down the sides, Sanjay Rajasekharan (12) fiddles with a large battery that powers the entire robot. He smoothly...

“[I'm] never going to let myself go out of control to the point where I feel horrible... that's why I went to Mount Whitney because I needed to prove to myself [that even though] I have this chronic autoimmune disease, it's not going to stop me from doing amazing things,” Jasmine Wiese (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

by Sarah Mohammed and Lauren Liu • January 9, 2020

A roller coaster. That’s how Jasmine Wiese (12) describes her senior year. But it can be used to illustrate her life as well, from the apex of her health to a downward swirling spiral of insulin pumps...

Seniors Cynthia Chen and Joshua Zhou, the 2020 Regeneron scholars.

Two seniors named as Regeneron scholars

by Varsha Rammohan and Arushi Saxena • January 8, 2020

Seniors Cynthia Chen and Joshua Zhou were selected as top scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) from a pool of 1,993 applicants from 659 schools in 49 states. The 300 scholars chosen and...

“When there’s not a way made out for me, I want to make it myself. In difficult times, I always remember, your body hasn’t given up yet. And if your body hasn’t, your mind can’t either,” Amla Rashingkar (12) said.

Humans of Harker: A piece of creativity

by Amruta Dharmapurikar and Sabrina Zhu • January 8, 2020

Drawing her bow and gently plucking the delicate strings of her viola, Amla Rashingkar (12) smiles at the group of young musicians behind her as she leads her section in the Harker Orchestra. Her eyes...

“I want to be the best person I can to people in terms of compassion and kindness. I’m not sure where it really comes from — I guess my identity, ever since I moved here, has been ‘the Canadian,’ so there’s always that stereotype where I have to be super nice to everyone and I have to apologize for everything. But it really does hurt me if I make someone feel bad. I’d much rather them be more positive or happy because of something I’ve done,” Finn Frankis (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Compassion in curiosity

by Arya Maheshwari, Co-Managing Editor • January 8, 2020

Students begin to pour into Nichols 312 and 314 as office hours ends at around 3:40 p.m., creating a buzz of action and energy throughout the rooms in anticipation of the upcoming weekly robotics meeting....

“What’s amazing about basketball is that it is just a bunch of strangers that are put together. On the team, there might be people that don’t spend time with each other and everyday we spend 2 hours bettering each other. As the season progresses, we learn to compromise and be a unit despite our lack of prior friendships because, in the end, it’s about finding a way to win,” Jeffrey Liu (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Calculated composure

by Srinath Somasundaram, Winged Post Opinions Editor • January 7, 2020

Jeffrey Liu (12)  sprints up the court as he calls a play. He gazes at the opposing team’s defense searching for the precise moment to make his move. When he sees the opening, he immediately darts to...

“Cooking [is] something I just love doing. Everything I do stems from one basic belief I have in my life: YOLO. Do whatever you love. You don’t want to feel regret over not trying harder, over not being better at something you actually love. So, trust me, give your absolute all in everything you do because if you give it 100 percent, then there won’t be anything to regret when you look back at it,” Phil Han (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Tailoring each spoonful to perfection

by Kushal Shah, Sports Columnist • January 7, 2020

His hands grip the knives tightly. After a long deep exhale, Phil Han (12) moves his hands at an almost imperceptible blur, sliding the knives, one on top of another, to sharpen them. As his chill music...

“I realized that this isn't really who I am and that I wanted to express who I was to other people. I just gained this newfound sense of confidence, and especially in volleyball ... I think it's given me a lot of confidence to be able to express myself in my own way,” Lauren Beede (12) said.

Humans of Harker: Playing her own game

by Tessa Muhle and Michelle Liu • January 6, 2020

A crack rings out in the gym as she strikes the ball into the corner of the court, lightning-fast on her feet. The ball bounces on the edge of the court, catching the other team off guard and earning an...

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